Dealing with War Crimes and
Genocide Commited on Latvian Territory

The friendship treaty signed by
the USSR and Germany on August 23, 1939 which has gone down in
the history as the Molotov  Ribbentrop pact destroyed the
independence of several East European states. The totalitarian
empires that sixty years ago carved up the national territories
of independent states have now collapsed, but a lot of suffering
from the crimes commited by the signatories of the pact have
remained.

History

The Latvian state and its
citizens suffered from two totalitarian states.

Soviet repressionsRight
after the occupation of Latvia in 1940 the USSR started
repressions against Latvians. It was a continuation of the
genocide against Latvians living in the Soviet Union which had
begun in 1937 and 1938. Repressions manifested themselves as
direct repressions  arrests, deportations to the Far East of
the USSR, murders - as well as indirect ones  dismissal,
reprisals of economic nature. KGB archives contain information
about 7292 persons arrested during Soviet occupation in
1940-1941 for "fighting against revolutionary movement
and the working class". During the Soviet reoccupation
in 1944-1945 18.438 persons were arrested. Two waves of mass
deportations of the people of Latvia took place during the
Soviet regime 14.194 persons were deported on June 14, 1941
and on March 25, 1949 this number was 42.133.

War crimesDuring
the German attack in 1941 only some 15.000 Jews managed to
evacuate to the East. Immediately extermination of Jews started.
Germany's genocide of Latvia's Jews in 1941 was a continuation
of the genocide against Jews in Germany which had assumed large
proportions by 1938. Some Latvians (the notorious Arajs commando)
were also involved in murdering of Jewish population. The Jews
who were not shot, were sent to concentration camps. Out of
those only about 1000 survived. Some 300 Jews were saved by the
local population. 65 Latvians who helped to save Jews during the
Nazi occupation of Latvia have received Israel's highest award
to non-Jews ("Righteous among Nations"). Latvian
Þanis Lipke who saved 55 Jews stands out among them. 26
Latvians have received awards from the Government of Latvia for
saving Jews during World War II. A number of those who
provided shelter to Jews were found and executed for defiance of
Nazi ordinances. Between 1941 and 1945 the Nazi German
occupation forces planned and organized the mass murder of over
100.000 Latvian citizens out of a pre-war population of 1.5
million. At least 60.000 of those killed were of Jewish origin.
The Germans shipped 21.000 Jewish prisoners to Latvia from other
parts of Europe, and over half of these prisoners were executed
on Latvian soil. As a result of the holocaust Latvia lost over
90% of its pre-war Jewish population.

During the German occupation
Latvia's Jews and Latvians were the main victims of annihilation,
but Gypsies, Germans, Russians and Poles suffered heavily too.

During the World War II Nazi
forces were not the only side committing war crimes and crimes
againsts humanity. The Soviet Union had inspired guerrilla
warfare in Latvia. Red partisans were especially active in the
eastern part of Latvia; some of the units not only fought German
occupational troops but also committed crimes against the local
population.

After the reestablishment of
Soviet occupation several hundred Latvian residents involved in
committing war crimes during German occupation on Nazi side were
sentenced by the Soviet courts.

Dealing with War Crimes and
Genocide

Political Framework On May
4, 1990 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia restored
the independence of Latvia and recognized the supremacy of
international law over national law. On the same day the
Declaration on the Accession of the Republic of Latvia to
international instruments relating to human rights was adopted.
The Declaration prescribed that the Republic of Latvia would
accede to the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide of December 9, 1948, to the Convention
on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes
and Crimes against Humanity of November 26, 1968 and to the
Principles of International Cooperation in the Detection, Arrest,
Extradition and Punishment of Persons Guilty of War Crimes and
Crimes against Humanity of December 3, 1973.

On September 13, 1990 the
Supreme Council of Latvia adopted the Declaration about the
Condemnation and Unallowability of Genocide and Anti-Semitism in
Latvia which condemned the genocide against the Jewish people
realized during Hitler's occupation of Latvia. The declaration
acknowledged that Latvia's citizens were also among those who
realized this occupant-inspired genocide. The Supreme Council
declared 4th of July as Remembrance Day of Jewish
Genocide.

Legal FrameworkA
year later Latvia joined two 1949 Geneva conventions  the
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in
Time of War and the Convention relative to the Treatment of
Prisoners of War.

A new type of crimes was
included in Criminal Law of Latvia  genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes, violence against population in territory
of hostilities. Punishment for the first three crimes prescribes
sentences up to life imprisonment. Criminal Law condemns these
crimes regardless of the ideology in whose name such crimes were
perpetrated, - whether Nazi or Communist  and regardless of
the ethnicity of the perpetrator.

In 1991 and 1992 the Latvian
General Prosecutor's Office concluded an agreement with law
enforcement institutions of Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom, the USA and New Zealand on co-operation in
investigation of war crimes and capturing of Nazi war criminals.

Two institutions deal with
detection of war crimes in Latvia - Prosecutor General's Office
and a special institution  Documentation Centre of
Totalitarian Regimes. The centre is empowered to collect
evidence to article persons for committing crime of genocide.
The Prosecutor's General Office has decided to increase the
staff of the Division for Crimes of Totalitarian Regimes and
resources allocated to the investigation of war crimes.

Trials of PerpetratorsDuring
the Soviet period several hundred of Latvian residents who had
participated in war crimes during the Nazi occupation were
sentenced.

After regaining independence
Latvian law enforcement authorities have investigated the crimes
of war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity of
both occupation regimes. Persons can be prosecuted on the basis
of evidence and in the legal framework. Latvia regards crimes
against humanity as crimes without a statute of limitations.
Latvia is ready to prosecute persons whose guilt in these crimes
is proved in accordance with national and international law.

The former head of Soviet
Latvia Security police (NKVD) Alfons Noviks was sentenced to
life imprisonment in 1995 for organizing deportations of Latvian
population. The former Soviet Security Officer Mihails Farbtuhs
was sentenced for committing the same crime to seven years in
prison in 1999. Later the court reduced the jail term from seven
years to five. Vasilijs Kononovs is the third Soviet-era war
criminal convicted in Latvia. He was sentenced in January 2000
to six years in prison for the murder of nine civilians in 1944.
At present the Supreme Court of Latvia has sent his case for
reconsideration.

Latvia is ready to try war
criminals of both warring sides of World War II. In
December 2000 Latvia asked Australia to extradite Australian
citizen Konrads Kalejs for his wartime activities in Nazi
auxiliary police unit in Latvia. Latvia has started criminal
proceedings against Australian citizen Karlis Ozols who may have
been involved in crimes on Latvian territory during World War
II. The criminal proceedings have been initiated on the basis of
materials acquired in the result of international co-operation
because K.Ozols like K.Kalejs is residing in Australia at the
moment.

Work with Future
GenerationsIt is of critical importance that Latvia
continues the Holocaust research as well as the study of war
crimes. The Latvian Commission of Historians was established in
1998 with a goal to promote research of XX century history of
Latvia paying special attention to analysis of both occupational
regimes and crimes against humanity committed by these regimes.
The members of the Commission are experts from Latvia, the USA,
the UK, Germany, Sweden, France and Israel. The Commission is
preparing the final report "Crimes against humanity during
two occupations of Latvia in 1940-1956".

The Ministry of Education and
Science has included lessons on Holocaust in teaching programmes
of Latvian secondary schools. Holocaust issues are part of
history final exams at schools. In April 2000 the Latvian
Commission of Historians in co-operation with the Ministry of
Education and Science and the Association of Teachers organized
seminar on Holocaust for teachers of history.

Both highest officials and
academicians of the Republic of Latvia regularly take part in
international conferences on Holocaust issues. During her speech
in Holocaust conference in Stockholm on January 27, 2000 State
President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga stressed that "Latvia
holds no statute of limitations on these crimes and is committed
to the prosecution and punishment of those found guilty through
the due process of law. We stand ready to receive any additional
evidence that will help us to initiate criminal proceedings
against any individual suspected of committing war crimes in
Latvia. At this moment in history, Latvia is engaged in
consolidating a free, open and democratic society. For only
democracy allows us to shape our future, and to make it truly
ours. We need to reevaluate it, so that we may learn its lessons,
and ensure that the worst errors of the past may never ever be
repeated."